Ship: Yura (SuA + Dami)

Categories: Romance, Fluff, Angst

Word count: 2919

Summary: Lee Yubin starts having a crush on Kim Bora the first time their eyes met. It is however when she thinks that everything will go well that the worst comes at her.

∆

That day, she was walking down the street absent-mindedly. Lee Yubin, a beanie covering her blond hair, had left her workplace a few minutes ago and was on her way home. Like every evening for the past few months, she was passing by the same scenery. But, gradually, the winter atmosphere was getting colder and darker each time she came back.

Among all the buildings admitted in her route, there was a café in which she had never been. Digging her hands even deeper into her pockets, she read the bright front: "La Maison".

She could see a few customers still inside and slowed down as she walked past. The warm lights beyond the windows added to her curiosity. Finally, she decided to enter. Her hand fought the cold for a moment to push the icy metal handle of the building's door.

Yubin's image of warmth matched the real welcoming heat. A sigh of relief passed through her lips, soothed by having escaped the winter for a moment.

The corners of her mouth lifted as she correctly saw the decorations for the approaching holiday season. Garlands had been hung on all the walls, and even on the edge of the counter. A large artificial Christmas tree sat comfortably in one corner. At the top of the tree, a star was proudly displayed, and all its thorny branches were decorated with various small ornaments, accompanied by other garlands.

She was very amused when she saw the employees displaying special green and red aprons with drawings of fir trees or reindeer. In addition, the two young women she saw talking behind the counter were wearing Christmas hats.

Yubin then approached them, without taking the time to analyze in depth each customer present. When she entered their field of vision, she was greeted by wide smiles that she was already returning. She really appreciated the hospitality that overflowed from this café. Even the tip of her nose, reddened by the outside temperatures, had warmed up very quickly.

"Good evening!"

The young woman who had spoken was shorter than she was, and seemed to be barely over five feet tall. Her long brown hair flowed down her shoulders, almost covering the tag that showed her name, "Bora."

"Good evening," Yubin greeted in response, scanning the waitress.

Her gaze observed everything about this "Bora." It went from her dark straight hair, to her nicely sculpted nose, to her stretched and lightly made up lips. The blonde instantly admired the whole physique of this woman. She usually rarely stayed on appearances, preferring to be interested in the soul of people. However, she did not remain indifferent to her splendor and could not help looking at it. She was then taken by embarrassment when the brunette cut her off her thoughts, "What would you like?"

"Oh, uh, I don't know yet, I haven't decided."

"Sure, take your time. Do you need some advice?" She suggested. "I can guide you in your choice."

Out of gratitude, Yubin nodded and directed her gaze to their product list in an attempt to hide her growing blush. Her hand caught her chin, as if to accompany her reflection.

The customer wanted to make this moment last, irrationally, to have an excuse to stay close to this beautiful woman. However, she did not want the situation to become weird or embarrassing and so ended up locking her choice. "Hot chocolate, please."

"Small? Medium? Large?"

"Medium."

"Great. Give me a moment."

Watching the pretty employee work, she opened her bag to prepare the needed cash.

Finally, she sat down at a table once the hot chocolate was retrieved. The blonde had settled herself so that she was facing the counter and continued to look at Bora, with a hint of guilt. From time to time, their eyes met and the waitress smiled while Dami looked away, red on the cheeks.

Enjoying the warmth of the place and of her drink, she freed her long blond hair from her beanie, which she placed on the surface of the table. She drank slowly, not daring to take a bold step forward to approach the one she had developed a crush on. Her eyes were still fixed on the brunette as she was chatting with the same colleague as when Yubin arrived. The two employees were glancing quickly at her, so she wondered if their discussion was about her. She then sank into her chair, pinning her gaze on her hands instead.

This way, she did not see whose footsteps were approaching her table. Finally, the chair in front of her was pulled out, bringing Bora into her field of vision. Mouth agape at seeing her here, she couldn't think of anything to say. The employee continued to smile and dared to speak, "I took the liberty of coming here... I wanted to tell you that I thought you were beautiful."

Yubin could not hold back a smile, but hid it behind her hand. She really didn't regret going into that café. The whole situation was making her flustered. Her heart was beating fast, she could feel it. It was easy for her to lose her temper in front of a girl she liked, and this moment was a perfect example.

"You too... You're really beautiful," the blonde replied, locking her gaze to her to capture all its depth. Her brown orbs fascinated her as they were so complex. Maybe it wasn't the color of her pupils that made her eyes so intense. Perhaps it was simply the incredible way she looked at her. A tension was born as the seconds of silence lengthened.

"Do you want a second one? It's on me," proposed Bora by pointing with her chin her almost empty cup.

"You wanna offer it to me?" She repeated with astonishment.

"Of course. Anything for a beautiful girl."

The blonde smiled as she nodded her consent, charmed. The employee got up to prepare the same drink and brought it to her gently. She thanked the brunette discreetly before the latter resumed the discussion. "And what is your name?"

"Yubin."

"Pretty name for a pretty girl. I'm Bora."

She nodded, playing with her fingers, having already become aware of the inscription on her Christmas apron.

"This is the first time I see you here," the waitress continued. "Have you been here before?"

"I've walked by before but never been inside. I was curious."

"So?" she asked with a smile. "Satisfied?"

"I couldn't have imagined it better..."

Yubin found it hard to sustain her bold look, and responded by diverting her attention to her second hot chocolate. If her patients saw her so flustered and shy, they might question her skills as a therapist, as well as her degree in psychology. She almost felt ridiculous being so unfit to face anyone.

After the exchange of further small talk that followed, the blonde promised to make another appearance. And so she did, the next evening and the rest of the week. Her trips made her more enthusiastic and motivated. She came home later and later, but did not care about the time that passed when she was with Bora. That night, Yubin had stayed until closing time without realizing it. So the waitress insisted on taking her home.

Once in front of her building, the blonde was staring at her feet, hesitating. Finally, she offered, "Do... Do you want to go upstairs?"

"With pleasure."

Inside her apartment, Yubin put down her bag and invited her guest on her couch.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Don't worry, I work in a café, I've had my fill."

The duo chuckled at her remark and the taller one asked again, "Something to eat, maybe? It's getting late, you can stay if you want."

"Oh, I'd really hate to bother you! Don't worry about me, I won't stay long."

"Oh, well... Okay," Yubin replied, trying to hide her disappointment.

"If you want, to make it up to you... I'll take you on a real date next week."

"Well... I'd love to."

"I'd rather go home tonight, but I'm doing it a little reluctantly. I... I really like you, Yubin."

"Bora... I like you too. A lot."

A wide smile lit up the waitress' face, assured of the reciprocity of her interest. Then, her eyes so difficult to decipher settled on the lips of the blonde. The latter noticed how her glance had gone down. As if by anticipation, her tongue came to moisten her lips. The silence settled while the gap between their mouths slowly narrowed.

The brunette slipped her hand on her cheek to cup it, approaching more. Then, finally, she shyly came to pick up her lips. Yubin's eyes closed as she savored the first kiss she shared with her.

When they parted, they smiled awkwardly, like two teenagers kissing for the first time. By the time they realized what had just happened, Bora stood up and concluded, "I'll make it up to you, I promise. I'll take you somewhere, okay? I'll see you soon."

The waitress was escorted to the door, but the blonde stopped her just before she left.

"Bora, wait."

Curious, she turned her head. Yubin approached her and kissed her. This second time confirmed their attraction, and seemed to seal something more real.

"See you soon, Bora."

When the door was closed again, the blonde became flustered, completely excited. She remained against the door for a long moment, smiling and blushing. She didn't think she needed a relationship in her life, but the habits she was beginning to develop with this mysterious waitress brought a rhythm and warmth to her winter; Yubin was inexplicably very attracted to Bora.

∆

Over the weeks and months, a real relationship had been built between Yubin and Bora. On the one hand, the blonde would sometimes come home from work early without picking up her girlfriend in order to prepare a proper dinner for her. On the other hand, the shorter one often made her hot chocolates; a drink that made the passage of the winter easier for them, but also to remind them of their meeting. They really loved each other, deeply.

However, there were many drawbacks lurking beneath the surface. Some days of the week, the waitress didn't work and stayed at home, where Yubin had unofficially moved in. However, sometimes Bora would only appear the next day without the blonde knowing anything about it. And the first time was a real surprise. Indeed, this one walked to the apartment bigger than her official housing, a wide smile on her face. She imagined herself going back, finding her girlfriend, kissing her, telling her how much she had missed her. But, when she had pushed the door that day, no one was in any of the rooms. She had worried a lot, and imagined the worst. She had called the brunette hundreds of times without success, and had fallen piteously asleep hours later, powerless. When she came back the next morning without explaining herself, Yubin felt hurt. Nevertheless, this event happened again from time to time, and more and more often.

When she tried to get information from her about her mysterious departures, the waitress would get defensive and repeat that when she returned home, she would like to be greeted lovingly by her girlfriend, instead of being bombarded with aggressive questioning.

Yubin was increasingly hurt by Bora's enigmatic disappearances, but also by her inability to manage her anger, by her inconsistent possessiveness or by her completely inappropriate actions.

That day, the blonde had just returned from a long day at work, where consultations had followed one another too quickly. Although she enjoyed accompanying her faithful patients in their progressive psychological process, her day was exhausting. Part of her was looking forward to returning to Bora's apartment, as she would surely have prepared something for her or could be gentle and pleasant, as it especially happened at the beginning of their relationship. On the other hand, Yubin could also find a brutal and aggressive brunette.

Of course, the taller girl was enlightened enough to understand that her romantic relationship was a problem. She should not feel that way, not receive such harmful treatment. But she was unable to act on anything other than her feelings of love. Even when the waitress was being obnoxious, there was always a time when she came back, a time when she took care of her lover properly. In addition, the lack of physical violence made it harder to acknowledge the abnormality of their bond.

Her journey finally came to an end when Yubin entered the third floor hallway. She took a deep breath before daring to unlock the door.

"I'm home!" she announced, hiding her nervousness.

When the door was closed, Bora's firm voice came to her. "Where were you?"

"At work. I've been working all day."

"Don't lie to me. It's the first time you've been home so late. Where were you?" repeated the brunette.

"I told you I was working! I just had more consultations than usual. Don't attack me like that, please."

"I'm the aggressive one?" she retorted with a bitter sneer. "You weren't capable of answering only one of my calls! You could have warned me, if you were at work, right?"

Yubin pushed her anger away deep inside her. She knew that this spontaneous emotion would only lead her down evil paths. She discarded her things, clenching her jaw to contain the boil that rose in her body.

"I was too busy. Here you go. I'm sorry. I'll call you next time."

She concluded their argument hoping the spark wouldn't start again, but that was without counting on Bora's behavior.

"How can I be assured that you're not lying to me, right? I know your ex comes to your office."

"It's business, Bora. That's all it is. I can't believe you trust me so little. Please, just let me go home in peace."

"Because you're tired I should be nice? Should I? And what are you going to do, otherwise? A fucking call, I asked you! It's not hard!"

The tone of the brunette was rising and it was hard for her girlfriend not to imitate it.

"Sit down, please," the blonde offered. "We will talk better."

"Oh, shut up with your therapist strategies! I'm your girlfriend, not a patient! I don't need your bullshit techniques!"

"But when are you going to realize that your anger management is a real problem?"

"You're not at work, stop it! I don't want any of your crap. And then, what's next? You gonna ask me to leave? This is my place, I'll remind you."

Why was Bora only hurting her? Yubin held back her tears at all costs. The brunette had been a fantastic girlfriend to her, and she thought she had finally found someone for her. Everything was perfect, though. Was it just an illusion all along? How could it have gone so wrong?

Yubin loved her, despite her pent-up desire to be apart from her. She might not be able to stop anything. Her relationship had accustomed her to regular hot chocolate and cuddling until she fell asleep. What would she be without that?

She missed what had seemed to be a healthy relationship initially. Every evening, when the blonde came home, she hoped to find the Bora she had met. When she was helpful, smiling, with her daring flirtations that charmed her. Yubin thought back to that time with great sadness.

Reflecting, she thought that her situation was a real torture. For the first time in her life, she had experienced a relationship that had completely fulfilled her. For the first few weeks, she had enjoyed real happiness. Then, watching this romance gradually turn into hell had probably been the most painful thing in her life. She would have suffered less if she had known nothing at all.

Her problems were inextricable.

All her thoughts came back to her and she couldn't stop her tears from rolling down her cheeks. Yubin met Bora's hardened eyes. The latter was about to speak when she was cut off by the frighteningly low voice of the blonde. "I wish I never met you."

Her harsh words were dropped and the waitress didn't have time to integrate them before Yubin slammed the door violently after escaping from the apartment.

∆

That day, she was walking down the street absent-mindedly. Lee Yubin, a beanie covering her blond hair, had left her workplace a few minutes ago and was on her way home. Like every evening for the past few months, she was passing by the same scenery. But, gradually, the winter atmosphere was getting colder and darker each time she came back.

Among all the buildings included in her route, there was a café in which she had never been. Digging her hands even deeper into her pockets, she read the bright front: "La Maison".

She could see a few customers still inside and slowed down as she walked past. The warm lights beyond the windows added to her curiosity. Finally, however, she decided to continue her journey.

As she continued to walk, Yubin had a strange sense of deja vu that she paid little attention to. Before the café disappeared from her sight, she glanced over her shoulder, and watched for a moment the joy that emanated from the building. She wondered if she would regret her decision, but walked home smoothly, fogged by her cold thoughts.